We recently took a look at Major League Baseball’s longest current streaks without postseason baseball. The analysis laid out that playing in October is easier said than done, since 13 MLB teams haven’t entered the playoffs for at least one year. For example, the Baltimore Orioles, New York Mets and Texas Rangers have missed out for the past four seasons.
Things get worse for the Pittsburgh PIrates and the Kansas City Royals, who up until 2021 have gone five years without taking part in the postseason. Then come the Detroit Tigers and the Los Angeles Angels, who are partaking in a six-year playoff drought. If that sounds gut-wrenching to experience as a fan, imagine the nine years the Philadelphia Phillies have spent in October from the sidelines and the 19 years for the Seattle Mariners.
After an unusual 16-team postseason in 2020 due to the still ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, ten teams enter the playoffs with renewed hopes of writing their names in the baseball record books. There are only six teams in MLB that have never won a World Series, and only one that has never played in one -the Mariners- but history has taught us everything can change. After all, the Nationals eventually partookin the Fall Classic in 2019 after a 51-year wait, the Rangers did so in 2010 for the first time in 49 years and the Cubs in 2016 after 70 years. The most exciting time of the year usually provides the most exciting times, and also some of the most impressive records. Up next, a list of what some of baseball’s greatest historical achievements in the postseason, accurate as of 9/28/2021, using data from Baseball Reference.
Randy Arozarena #56 of the Tampa Bay Rays hits a single against the Los Angeles Dodgers during the fifth inning in Game Six of the 2020 MLB World Series (Getty Images). Lloyd McClendon #23 of the Pittsburgh Pirates looks on during practice before the game against the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2001 (Getty Images). : Kenny Lofton #7 of the Cleveland Indians looks on after stealing a base in the fifth inning against the Boston Red Sox in the 2007 ALCS (Getty Images). Clayton Kershaw #22 of the Los Angeles Dodgers pitches in the first inning during their game against the Cincinnati Reds in September, 2021 (Getty Images). Fans of the New York Yankees stand and applaud in front of a sign referencing the Seattle Mariners regular season 116 victories during game five of the American League Championship Series on October 22, 2001 (Getty Images). Don Larsen passed away in 2020 but his legacy, which included a perfect game in the 1956 World Series, will never be forgotten by Yankees and baseball fans alike (Twitter: @Yankees).
